Are you ready for your #IBMConnect close-up?

Planning for IBM Connect 2014 is in full swing! I'm thrilled to have the honor, once again, to plan and manage the lab in Asia 4. As always, learning from the previous year, building on our successes. I want to share a few highlights with you for what's to come.

The first thing I want to mention is that we've changed our name. We used to be the User Experience (UX) Lab. This year, with an emphasis on IBM Design Thinking, we are now The IBM Design Studio.

When you visit the studio, you'll find designers from all of your favorite products to talk to, and interactive activities designed to help gather your feedback on what you like or don't like about our products and solutions. We know most of you will stop by the lab in the few moments you have between sessions, so we have designed our activities to be quick, easy, and fun! If you want to stay longer for more in-depth discussions, that's cool, too.

Also, back by popular demand: The Photo Booth!

I had so much fun taking your photos last year that I couldn't help but slide that into the plans again. This time with a twist! Designers are very visual creatures, so rather than just telling them how you feel about our products, you can show them! Let's call it an Empathy Booth! Take a photo with your favorite product's icon, or with an emoticon that describes how you feel about a product. If you want, you can give us a quote about what you love or don't love about our products. Of course, I had to test out the equipment, so here you go... See you at IBM Connect!